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A defendant was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and was given his jail term raised to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, faced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We trust the panel will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is secured personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his sentence. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in the region to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a key topic for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a timeframe of what investigators stated was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to injure that individual.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you permission? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is maybe in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the public consciousness resulting from the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire unpleasant societal structure that you are upholding.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his parent kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that each year he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had a medical condition caused by the pressure of the initial proceedings.